He is alleged to have been part of a plot to assassinate the attorney-general and banish interim Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama in 2010.

Devanesh Sharma, former president of the Fiji Law Society, told Radio Australia's Pacific Beat it is not unusual for a Suva High Court judge to overturn the findings of a jury.

"I mean at the end of the day, the final protection of any high court trial is that the judge will make the final decision because the judge is normally a very experienced person who will know the law," he said.